Microsoft slips unscathed through EU competition probe after promising to unbundle Teams

Thanks to a pledge to unbundle its corporate messaging app Teams from its productivity suites, Microsoft has managed to slip unscathed through a major antitrust investigation by the European Commission that could have resulted in massive fines for the tech giant.

The Commission on Friday okayed Microsoft’s concessions to address the EU’s competition concerns over the company including Teams along with the rest of its Office productivity suite for free, concluding a multi-year investigation that was sparked by complaints from rival office messaging app Slack in 2020.

Microsoft has promised that for the next seven years, it will provide Microsoft 365 and Office 365 without Teams at a lower price, and will let customers choose whether they want to pay more to add the collaboration app to the suites.

The Commission has also managed to get Microsoft to agree to open up its APIs to enable interoperability for key features between its suite and third-party messaging and collaboration tools, as well as let them export their data out of teams for the next five years.

Microsoft did not immediately return a request for further details about its commitments.

In its investigation, the European authority accused Microsoft of breaching competition rules by bundling teams with its productivity suites, abusing its dominant position and granting Teams an undue advantage. In its preliminary findings, the Commission also said that advantage was improved because Teams was integrated with other Microsoft 365 apps like Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and Word.

Microsoft attempted to allay those concerns by implementing a partial unbundling of Teams in April 2024, but the Commission felt more extensive changes were needed, following which the company offered a revised plan in May 2025.

This approval is a win-win for both the EU and Microsoft, especially because there was no legal battle. The Commission can say it’s wrung a big compromise from Big Tech. Now, Microsoft is voluntarily offering some versions of both its productivity suites without Teams at a 50% lower price compared to versions that bundle the app, worldwide.

Microsoft also dodged punitive measures and a big fine, as the Commission’s penalties for breaching competition rules can reach up to 10% of annual global revenue — which, considering the tech giant last year recorded $245 billion in revenue, would have been truckloads of money.

The Commission also noted that Slack and Alfaview, another company that had complained about Teams, have withdrawn their complaints following a market test by the Commission earlier this year.

“With today’s decision, we make binding for seven years or more Microsoft’s commitments to put an end to its tying practices that may be preventing rivals from effectively competing with Teams,” Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition at the European Commission, said in a statement.

“Today’s decision therefore opens up competition in this crucial market, and ensures that businesses can freely choose the communication and collaboration product that best suits their needs,” said Ribera.